Mini, white table

Do you ever find yourself with that annoying little empty space that you can't put anything in? Well, I did. A small, 25 cm gap at the end of my bed where I had my TV on the floor and my craft supplies around it. The situation was not ideal and I needed a solution. So, I began sketching...

I aimed to design around 8-12 different designs, each with the intention of creating storage as well as allowing me to fill the problematic space in a modern style. Each of the designs have their own advantages and disadvantages, with parts I love and parts I hate. My personal preference was to be able to store smaller items under the table, while the table can still be used to sit my TV on.

This is my first personal project at home and so I really wanted to work mostly on my sketch work, aiming to improve the quality of my sketches and my annotations, to make my ideas appear clearer on paper. Personally, from previous work, I can see my sketches looking more defined and accurate, rather than rough and unclear. I used the green pencil crayon as a way to create shadows and light, making the images look more 3D. The black pen was used to make parts of the sketches that I really liked stand out. By combining the 2 of these, I found that just from glancing at my sketches I can easily see the images clearly, showing my favourite parts.

From these designs, I began to make simple, card models, made from white card. By doing so, this allowed me to see what the designs would look like in reality, not just on paper, to see if the initial concept was practical.

Above are 4 of my models. From my models, I found that the simpler designs looked more modern and were more successful even in the model stages. From my models, I was able to eliminate the designs which I either didn't like or believed would not work as a final product. I ended up with around 5 designs that I wanted to work with, therefore, I began modifications in order to make the designs more appealing and successful.

With my modifications, I tried to ensure that each of the designs had plenty of storage within the product, in order to be as successful as possible. I particularly like the 3rd design of the tiered storage where each of the shelves becoming smaller. The idea behind this design means that each of the shelves are always accessible, increasing the amount of space available.

Once my designs were done, it was time to begin making...

The process of making the table was more complex than originally planned, but still fairly simple. Since the plywood was rather thin (9mm) it would not support the weight of my TV and other items alone, meaning the table required added support. To do so, 4 inner legs were added to the inside of legs to ensure to legs wouldn't be too flimsy and bend when in use. Likewise, there are too horizontal beams running across the length of the table: one directly under the top of the table and one midway down. By doing this, they stop the table from bending in either direction as one support is at the front and the other is at the back. This prevents the table leaning either forward or backwards while in use.

To hide the screws that would be visible on the top, plastic covers were added as a way to protect the screws from paint later on and also blend in so that they weren't obvious when the table was in use.

Once the table was fully made and ready for use (nearly) it was time to paint the table and add it to my room once dry.

I chose the colour white as it wuld match all the furniture in my room, while still giving the product a modern, simplistic look. Overall, the table took 2 coats of paint, but since the paint was quick to dry, it only took around 2 hours from start to finish to paint the whole thing!

Now time to put it in my room...

The table was designed to fit perfectly in the gap at the end of my bed and it does which is amazing! I love the way this turned out and how a simple, modern design was adapted and changed to suit the function of the product! Although this is a personal project to create a product I needed, it still allowed me to practice a range of skills (particularly my sketching skills) and the outcome is great!

I can't wait to set my new table up!!